Our Life and Adventures

How to Move a Dog from China to the US

Most of you know that we have a furry addition to our family who goes by the name of Albus Lowry. When we were thinking about getting him, I looked into how difficult it would be to bring him home. The US doesn’t have very strict quarantine laws about dogs so we took it as a green light and got him.

We recently got him this huge airline approved crate and started researching ways to transport him.

I fit in the crate suitable for a 20 pound dog…

When I started researching, I found that United Airlines advertises a Pet Safe program with rates from China to the US for about 5,000 rmb– a bit expensive but not prohibitive. When I contacted them however, they tell you that you need a cargo agent to book it. This ridiculous extra middleman means that you end up having to pay more than double the United price for someone to book him in the same system.

After hearing horror stories about agents who have ripped people off and then didn’t deliver, we decided to go with the service recommended by our vet. Globy Pet Relocation is very streamlined, but even more expensive. If you want to see the breakdown, here it is.

That comes down to roughly USD $2,820. We set up a GoFundMe since it costs so much more than we expected which so far has raised around $1500. If you would like to check that out or donate you can here: gofundme.com/bring-albus-home-from-China .

Shameless plug over…

So far they’ve picked him up for his government health check and have taken all the documents needed for his export permit. It’s kind of overwhelming, so it’s a relief to have them doing all of the heavy lifting in terms of paperwork. If all goes according to plan, he’ll be flying out Wednesday, September 6th to Chicago where he’ll be kenneled for the night and then on to Atlanta where he’ll be picked up by Alex’s mom. I can’t wait to know that he’s made it!

Until then, we’re going on long walks and having lots of cuddle seshes. Bon voyage buddy!